Memory, or the function of a living organism to store information and retrieve it at a later time in a functional form, comprises multiple processes and requires the function of many different brain areas. Human memory provides declarative recall, i.e., facts and events accessible to conscious recollection, and non-declarative recall, i.e., procedural memory of skills and operations not stored regarding time and place.
The processing of information to be added to memory occurs in several stages. A newly acquired experience initially is susceptible to various forms of disruption. With time, however, the new experience becomes resistant to disruption. This observation has been interpreted to indicate that a labile, working, short-term memory is “consolidated” into a more stable, long term memory. The initial phase of memory consolidation occurs in the first few minutes after we are exposed to a new idea or learning experience. The next phase occurs over a longer period of time, such as during sleep. If a learning experience has on-going meaning to us, the next week or so serves as a further period of memory consolidation. In effect, in this phase, the memory moves from short-term to long-term storage.
Various mechanisms have been proposed for the formation of long-term memory. A wide range of observations suggest an evolutionarily conserved molecular mechanism for the formation of long-term memory. These observations include increase in release of synaptic transmitter and number of synaptic receptors as well as decrease in Km of the receptors, synthesis of new memory factors either in the pre-synaptic or post-synaptic element, new synaptic connections, and increase in the active area in the pre-synaptic membrane. Synaptic plasticity, the change in the strength of neuronal connections in the brain, is thought to underlie long-term memory storage.
On the molecular level, a series of classic studies showed that inhibition of mRNA and protein synthesis during a critical time window could disrupt the formation of long-term memory. Initial learning and recall of previously stored information was not impaired by the transient blockage of protein synthesis. This led to a hypothesis that new gene expression is necessary for the conversion or consolidation of a short-term modification of the brain into a long-term memory.
Memory consolidation, or long-term memory, is also believed to play a crucial role in a variety of neurological and mental disorders, including mental retardation, Alzheimer's disease and depression. Indeed, loss or impairment of long-term memory is a significant feature of such diseases.
For several neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3, and dentatorubral pallidoluysian atrophy (DRLPA), proteins involved in the overall pathogenic progression of the disease have been identified. There is currently no cure for these neurodegenerative diseases. These diseases are progressively debilitating and most are ultimately fatal.
Further problematic of these neurodegenerative diseases (especially Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease) is that their prevalence continues to increase, thus creating a serious public health problem. Recent studies have pointed to alpha-synuclein (Parkinson's disease), beta-amyloid-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1 (including variants thereof, e.g. variants A, B, C, and D)) (Alzheimer's disease), huntingtin (Huntington's disease), and ataxin 1 (Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 1) as major factors in the pathogenesis of each of these diseases, respectively.
The neurodegenerative process in Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease is characterized by extensive loss of selected neuronal cell populations accompanied by synaptic injury and astrogliosis. Pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease include formation of amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil thread formation. Although the mechanisms triggering cell dysfunction and death are unclear, the prevailing view is that neurodegeneration results from toxic effects subsequent to the accumulation of specific neuronal cell proteins, such as amyloid precursor protein (APP) (Alzheimer's disease—processed into beta-amyloid by BACE1 (including variants thereof, e.g. variants A, B, C, and D)).
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive degenerative disorder of the brain characterized by mental deterioration, memory loss, confusion, and disorientation. Among the cellular mechanisms contributing to this pathology are two types of fibrillar protein deposits in the brain: intracellular neurofibrillary tangles composed of polymerized tau protein, and abundant extracellular fibrils comprised largely of beta-amyloid. Beta-amyloid, also known as Abeta, arises from the proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) at the beta- and gamma-secretase cleavage sites giving rise to the cellular toxicity and amyloid-forming capacity of the two major forms of Abeta (Abeta40 and Abeta42). Thus, preventing APP processing into plaque-producing forms of amyloid may critically influence the formation and progression of the disease making BACE1 (including variants thereof, e.g. variants A, B, C, and D) a clinical target for inhibiting or arresting this disease. Similar reports suggest presenilins are candidate targets for redirecting aberrant processing.
The design and use of small interfering RNA complementary to mRNA targets that produce particular proteins is a recent tool employed by molecular biologists to prevent translation of specific mRNAs. Various groups have been recently studying the effectiveness of siRNAs as biologically active agents for suppressing the expression of specific proteins involved in neurological disorders. Caplen, et al. (Human Molecular Genetics, 11(2): 175-184 (2002)) assessed a variety of different double stranded RNAs for their ability to inhibit cell expression of mRNA transcripts of the human androgen receptor gene containing different CAG repeats. Their work found gene-specific inhibition occurred with double stranded RNAs containing CAG repeats only when flanking sequences to the CAG repeats were present in the double stranded RNAs. They were also able to show that constructed double stranded RNAs were able to rescue caspase-3 activation induced by expression of a protein with an expanded polyglutamine region. Xia, Mao, et al. (Nature Biotechnology, 20: 1006-1010 (2002)) demonstrated the inhibition of polyglutamine (CAG) expression in engineered neural PC12 clonal cell lines that express a fused polyglutamine-fluorescent protein using constructed recombinant adenovirus expressing siRNAs targeting the mRNA encoding green fluorescent protein.
Other tools used by molecular biologists to interfere with protein expression prior to translation involve cleavage of the mRNA sequences using ribozymes against therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease (see WO01/16312A2) and Parkinson's disease (see WO99/50300A1 and WO01/60794A2). However, none of the above aforementioned patents disclose methods for the specifically localized delivery of small interfering RNA vectors to targeted cells of the brain in a manner capable of local treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The above patents do not disclose use of delivery devices or any method of delivery or infusion of small interfering RNA vectors to the brain. For example, the above patents do not disclose or suggest a method of delivery or infusion of small interfering RNA vectors to the brain by an intracranial delivery device.
The delivery of biologically active agents to the brain is an important and challenging aspect of treating a variety of neurological disorders. For treatment of some neurological disorders, it is desirable to deliver a biologically active agent (e.g., a therapeutic agent) to the brain that will cause brain cells to express DNA, for example, a missing gene (i.e., gene therapy), and/or RNA, for example, a small interfering RNA (siRNA).
Some approaches to gene therapy for neurological disorders involve surgical delivery of non-viral or viral vectors directly into the brain tissue, which is generally necessary since non-viral and viral vectors normally do not cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). These approaches are limited by difficulty in achieving sufficient distribution and diffusion of the vector into the targeted areas of the brain, and by the potential for viral vectors to produce an immune reaction in the patient. One approach for achieving enhanced diffusion of vectors into the brain tissue is to use the technique of “convection enhanced delivery,” whereby the non-viral or viral vectors are administered at a low flow rate over a long period of time with a pump providing pressure and flow volume to enhance the distribution of the vector into the tissue. While convection enhanced delivery has been shown to yield delivery of molecules and virus particles to substantial three-dimensional regions of rodent and primate brains, scale-up of this delivery approach to the three-dimensional volume of the human brain remains a technical challenge. Effective treatment of certain neurological diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's disease) using a gene or protein delivery or suppression therapy will most likely require delivery of the biologically active agents to most of the human cerebrum. In other neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease, even though there are circumscribed regions of the brain anatomy that are especially affected by the disease process, for example, the substantia nigra or striatum (caudate and putamen) and result in cardinal symptoms of the diseases (e.g., dyskinesias, rigidity, etc.), patients will likely benefit further from treatment of broader regions of the brain, in which the disease process causes additional symptoms (e.g., depression and cognitive deficits).
An approach of using viral vectors to deliver genes or gene suppressing agents to the brain tissue using stereotactic neurosurgery including, for example, the use of adeno-associated virus (AAV) to deliver gene therapy to the subthalamic nucleus, has shown considerable promise. However, the usefulness of stereotactic neurosurgery to deliver a viral vector carrying a gene or protein suppression therapy can be limited by one or more of the following factors. Stereotactic neurosurgery always involves a low level of surgical risk including, for example, accidental perforation of a blood vessel, which can result in cerebral hemorrhage and death. Dispersion of a viral vector to large regions of brain tissue, even using convection enhanced delivery and optimal vectors, catheter designs, and surgical technique, is likely to be limited relative to what can be attained using the blood stream as the distribution system. Manufacturing of viral particles (e.g., capsid plus DNA payload) in sufficient quantities for therapeutic use, while feasible, is costly relative to production of DNA alone. Viral particles (i.e., the capsid proteins) might be immunogenic, causing adverse reactions in sensitized individuals. While the immune response to some viruses (e.g., AAV) when administered to the brain appears minimal, it remains a potential limitation particularly for repeated therapy administrations.
It would be advantageous to administer a biologically active agent by a route that is no more invasive than a simple intravenous injection. With this approach, a biologically active agent could be delivered through the BBB by targeting the biologically active agent to the brain via endogenous BBB transport systems. Expression of a DNA or RNA in the brain requires that the biologically active agent that is injected into the blood is transported not only across the BBB by, for example, receptor-mediated transcytosis (RMT), but also across the brain cell membrane (BCM) by, for example, receptor-mediated endocytosis (RME) into the target cell in the brain. In addition, using endogenous BBB transport systems to target biologically active agents non-invasively to the brain also requires the development of a suitable formulation of the biologically active agent that is stable in the bloodstream.
An effective method for delivering gene therapy to the entire primate brain using compositions that carry plasmid DNA or antisense RNA across the blood brain barrier and into brain cells was recently disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,372,250 (Pardridge). The reported ability of this method to deliver plasmid DNA to the entire primate brain constitutes an impressive technical breakthrough. However, therapeutic use of the disclosed method may be limited by one or more of the factors listed herein below. Gene expression from a plasmid or RNA is generally temporary (e.g., limited to a period of days or weeks). Intravenous delivery of the disclosed compositions can result in unintended treatment of all bodily organs, potentially resulting in adverse side-effects. Finally, intravenous delivery can result in a loss of dosing as the dose intended for the brain is delivered to other parts of the body.
Further, the foregoing prior art does not disclose any technique for delivering or infusing into the brain small interfering RNA vectors which are then capable of reducing production of at least one protein involved in the loss of memory.
The prior art describes direct systemic delivery of ribozymes. This approach for treatment of memory loss or neurodegenerative disorders would appear neither possible nor desirable. First, interfering RNAs are distinctly different than ribozymes. Second, small RNA molecules delivered systemically will not persist in vivo long enough to reach the desired target, nor are they likely to cross the blood-brain barrier. Further, the approach taken by the prior art may be impractical because of the large quantity of small interfering RNA that might have to be administered by this method to achieve an effective quantity in the brain. Even when the blood-brain barrier is temporarily opened, the vast majority of oligonucleotide delivered via the bloodstream may be lost to other organ systems in the body, especially the liver.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,735,814 and 6,042,579 disclose the use of drug infusion for the treatment of Huntington's disease, but the drugs specifically identified in these patents pertain to agents capable of altering the level of excitation of neurons, and do not specifically identify agents intended to enter the cell and alter protein production within cells.
Thus, new compositions and methods for delivering to the brain biologically active agents for the treatment of memory loss and cognitive dysfunction are needed.